


Time’s Windmill

by Greyed_Viking



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Because Time Needs A Father Figure, Gen, Gift Exchange, LU Valentine’s Gift Exchange 2020, Linked Universe, Phonogram Man’s Name Is Terry, Sky Totally Has ADD, Terry is Time’s Dad Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22706362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greyed_Viking/pseuds/Greyed_Viking
Summary: “It’s... a windmill?”
Relationships: Sky & Time
Comments: 3
Kudos: 106





	Time’s Windmill

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Frosty (Frostedsilverwings)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frostedsilverwings/gifts).



“It’s… a windmill?” Sky questioned. The boys all nodded dumbly. This was not what they were expecting when Time said he had something to show them. Time sighed loudly, lightly pushing through the group to stand in front of them.

“We’ll only be here for a moment, but I wanted to show you one of my favorite places to be in Hyrule,” He said before flinging the door open unceremoniously. The others nodded again, filing in behind Time. The first thing they noticed was the music that seemed to be coming from… well, everywhere. It was a beautiful melody, one that filled the air, air that smelled like fresh rain. Sky smiled, fond of the place already.

“Link!” A voice shouted over the music. The Links all turned instinctively at their shared name, although they quickly realized the Link in question was Time. Time’s face widened with joy as the music faded into a whisper. Sky was perplexed by this happiness on their leader’s face, but let him lead the way across the room to a strange-looking man. He seemed to have some sort of musical instrument winding around him and was spinning the handle on it furiously, but with a sense of care that only a musician had. He looked happier than Time did and spoke in a loud, booming voice that surprised Sky.

“Link, my friend, how are you? What brings you to the humble Phonogram Man’s windmill?” The man asked. Time laughed, and plopped down in front of the man like an enthusiastic child.

“I have something to run by you,” Time started and launched into a discussion that Sky could honestly not follow. Something about timelines and connecting points in time, and paradoxes? Sky yawned, tired of the inaction. Talking was good and all, but he would rather be  _ doing  _ something. Standing around wasn’t his forte. The windmill man seemed interested in what Time was saying, and suddenly Sky felt bad for not understanding when this man obviously did, enough to argue back in counterpoints even more complicated than Time’s original points. Taking a deep breath, Sky calmed his mind. There was no reason to feel bad over this. This man obviously knew a lot more on the subject and that was okay.

The longer the conversation lasted, the more nervous and restless the boys became. Legend and Hyrule were fake sword fighting on the turning dias, while Warriors and Wind watched. Four and Wild, along with Twilight, talked quietly. With a loud sigh, Sky pulled out his harp and plucked the strings. Listening carefully to the tune the man was playing on his instrument, Sky quickly picked up the tune and repeated it on his harp. Soon rain could be heard pouring down outside. Time glanced over and smiled at Sky, almost reassuringly. 

Suddenly standing, Time stretched out. Thanking the windmill man, he motioned for the others to follow him out of the building, into the rain. Complying, the boys shot dirty looks into the rain filled sky, and Sky felt a little bad, but not enough to apologize.

“So why did we go there, exactly?” Legend asked. Time shrugged, and spoke loud enough to be heard over the pounding rain.

“Needed to talk to Terry and get his opinion on this arrangement. He helped me figure out many a timeline issue. I thought I’d let him take a crack at the reasoning behind this,” Time said vaguely. Sky nodded, pretending to understand the reasoning behind them going to an old windmill for a few hours. He didn’t.

Slowly, they trudged through the rain, finally reaching a safe place to camp for the night. The rain subsided, and with the lack of other dry wood, Wild provided some from his tablet. Sky didn’t trust the thing, but he trusted Wild, so he didn’t say anything about it. Plus, it meant a warm fire to sleep by instead of a cold, muddy night. Sky would take that over anything.

Dinner was a quiet affair, mushroom skewers and soup, when Sky found himself sitting next to time, conversing quietly.

“So that song of yours really does create rain?” Sky questioned, because although he had seen with his own two eyes, he simply couldn’t believe it. Time nodded, smiling. He offhandedly mentioned it was his favorite, and that it was how he met Terry.

“Learned the song from him, but I was the one who taught him the song. Don’t know what that means for the original source of the song, but it’s useful nonetheless,” Time intoned, his voice level. Sky nodded, contemplating this. A song with no beginning and no end, if the endless playing of Terry was any indication. Sky huffed in laughter, and then became very quiet, thinking.

“Time?” Sky bit his lip, raising a hand to scratch at the back of his neck. Time turned to look at him.

“Yes?” He said, an eyebrow raised. Sky sighed, thinking how to phrase the question he had.

“You… You mentioned that the windmill was one of your favorite places to be. Why? The place is nice, but wouldn’t it get old fast, with the same music playing constantly?” Time blinked in surprise, before adopting a sheepish smile.

“Would you believe me if I told you it was because I had so many breakdowns there?” Sky snorted. Time? Having a  _ breakdown _ ? Preposterous. Time truly smiled this time, a small chuckle escaping his lips. Shoving Sky gently, he continued. “It’s true. I… I didn’t like timeline shenanigans very much when I was younger, and no one ever believed me when I told them, except Zelda and Terry. Terry… He understood what it was like, for some reason. So I would come to him when I had questions, until I left for Termina,” Time’s face hardened. Sky placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t feel comfortable, Time.”

“No, I want to, it’s just,” Time sighed. “I was stuck in an endless cycle of three days. I tried to save everyone and help them the best I could while defeating Majora, but it was just… Hard. I struggled and all I wanted to do was go talk to Terry about the cycle and what I could do to change the time flow to best help, but… I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t just abandon them all to  _ die _ ,” Time gritted his teeth for a moment, then relaxed.

“When I finally came home, Terry knew. Said he could see it in my eyes, that something had changed in me timewise. He helped me through the worst of my days, the days before Malon was in my life again. He made sure I ate, had clothes, was healthy, safe. I never had a dad, but Terry… He was like a dad to me. Or an older brother, maybe? He was a role model for younger me, that’s for sure,” Sky chuckled at this, patting the larger man’s shoulder comfortingly.

“I… I’m scared one day I’m going to go to the windmill and find him dead. I don’t know what I’ll do when it happens. Get Dampé, I guess, but emotionally? I’ll be devastated. I know it seems a little silly to be attached to someone that seemed to have so little impact on my journey as a hero, but I think that’s exactly what I needed to heal from it,” Time spoke quietly, almost too quiet for Sky to hear. They sat in silence for a while before Sky spoke up.

“I’m glad you have someone like Terry. It’s good to have people you can rely on. You deserve someone who cares about you and takes care of you– remember that. You can always ask us for help too, if you need it. We’re here for you,” Sky said. Time nodded solemnly, and then broke into a smile. 

“Awful smiley tonight, Time,” Legend jeered from across the fire, but it was all in good nature. Sky found himself smiling happily at the picture in front of him. Good natured teasing and companionship. He patted his sword.

“Oh Fi, how did we get so lucky?”


End file.
